MUSKEGON – If West Michigan Ironmen head coach Terry Mitchell has one regret, it’s that he won’t have the chance to put his 2025 team up against other quality opponents from across the arena football world.

Since the beginning of the season, Mitchell has been saying that this year’s Ironmen squad may be as good or better than any other version of the team over its 10-year history.

The Ironmen backed up his words on Saturday might when they overcame an early deficit and completed a perfect 7-0 season with a 75-32 victory over the Coralville Chaos in the American Indoor Football league championship game at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.

The championship was the fifth for the Ironmen and their first in the AIF. They played in the league in their first season, 2016, but lost in the title game.

The Ironmen finished the season with one overwhelming stat that can’t be ignored. Over seven games they beat their opponents by a combined score of 396-129.

Mitchell can’t help but wonder how his team would stack up against the best in other leagues.

“Their effort, their drive, their passion for the game and their passion for learning,” Mitchell said when asked about the best attributes of his team. “I just feel like we would have the talent to compete at any level.”

The victory put the Ironmen back in the championship column following last year’s disappointing finale, when they were upset 32-12 by the Michigan Avengerz in the Great Lakes Arena Football league title game.

It also provided the first championship as a head coach for Mitchell.

Mitchell,, in his second year as head coach, has been with the Ironmen as a player, assistant coach and head coach since the team was established, and has been successful in every role.

“It feels amazing,” the coach said. “It slipped through our hands last year, my first as a head coach. But I told my team, if we can come out and play Ironmen football, we can win this game, and that’s what we did. It feels great.

“I’ve now won a championship as a player, an assistant coach, and now as a head coach.”

Mitchell was also happy to see his team beat an apparently stacked opponent.

According to numerous reports, some players from the Cedar Rapids River Kings, another AIF team with the same owner as the Chaos, ended up on the Coralville roster for the title game. Coach Mitchell also said that several players from the Michigan Avengerz, the team that beat the Ironmen in the title game last year, also showed up to play with the Chaos.

The Ironmen didn’t appreciate playing three teams merged into one, but still took care of business, Mitchell said.

“We figured they combined three teams, and that was extra motivation for us,” the coach said.

The main problem in last year’s title game loss was the absence of veteran quarterback Alex Carder, who had to leave with an injury. But Carder was healthy on Saturday, and it made all the difference.

He threw four touchdown passes and ran for a TD to seal up the victory for the team that he’s led for nine of the past 10 seasons.

“Yeah, 10 years,” Carder said. “I’m just having a blast, you know, I’m thrilled for the opportunity. I continue to put the pads on and put on a show for the people of Muskegon.

“It feels great to be back and to be able to perform for my team. As an athlete it’s hard having to sit out and be injured. So I’m definitely glad to be back in action. It definitely makes it sweeter.”

The Ironmen had to work a bit for the win, particularly in the first half, when Coralville grabbed a quick 8-0 lead on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Benny Kershaw to former Ironmen receiver John Ross.

The visitors added another touchdown in the first quarter and two in the second, and tied the game 14-14 and 20-20. But the Ironmen answered every time, with two Carder TD passes to Tyler Bruce and one to Tyler Hunt.

The Ironmen defense, which gave up more yards and points than usual, got some revenge when Jalon Simpson picked off a Chaos pass and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.

The first half ended with the Ironmen leading 40-26.

The second half was all Ironmen.

Carder scored on a one-yard run, Kaden Nelson returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown, Raheem Stokes did the same with a 40-yard pick-six, then backup quarterback Darnell Fields threw two touchdown passes, to Jeremiah Dault and Bruce, to put the game and the championship on ice.

Bruce ended the game with three touchdown receptions..

The last few scores in the second half were the Ironmen’s response to an opponent that stacked its lineup with players from other teams to gain an advantage, according to Coach Mitchell.

“We’ve been doing everything the right way all year,” he said. “We felt disrespected. That’s why we didn’t take our foot off the gas. When we put our backup quarterback in, we still wanted to score, because we wanted to send a message.”

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER
C – 12:31 – Benny Kershaw 46 pass to John Ross (conversion good) – 8-0 Coralville
WM – 11:00 – Alex Carder 22 pass to Tyler Hunt (Carder kick) – 8-7 Coralville
WM – 9:15 – Jalon Simpson 12 interception return (Carder kick) – 14-8 WM
C – 6:00 – Von Harris 1 run (conversion failed) – 14-14
WM – 1:55 – Carder 8 pass to Tyler Bruce (kick failed) – 20-14 WM

SECOND QUARTER
C – 10:59 – Kershaw 13 pass to Jay Young (conversion failed) – 20-20
WM – 9:50 – Darnell Fields 1 run (Carder kick) – 27-20 WM
WM – :50 – Carder 5 pass to Bruce (Carder kick) – 34-20 WM
C – :46 – Kershaw 27 pass to Kyle Zarecki (conversion failed) – 34-26 WM
WM – :00 – Carder 3 pass to Toni Sok (kicked failed) – 40-26 WM

THIRD QUARTER
WM – 10:45 – Carder 1 run (kick good) – 47-26 WM
WM- 2:03 – Kaden Nelson 50 yard interception return (kick good) – 54-26

FOURTH QUARTER
WM – 6:40 – Darnell Fields 44 pass to Jeremiah Dault (kick good) – 61-26 WM
C – 3:40 – Kershaw 13 pass to Ross (conversion failed) – 61-32 WM
WM – 1:30 – Fields 34 pass to Bruce (kick good) – 68-32 WM
WM – :44 – Raheem Stokes 40 interception return (Carder kick) – 75-32 WM